Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins won the 2006 AL MVP award…Derek Jeter did not. Shockingly, the Rays 2006 Team MVP, Carl Crawford, did not receive any first place votes. However, he did receive one 9th place vote to finish 26th in the balloting. To put this in perspective, one must remember that there are only 14 teams in the American League. The New York Yankees had five players finish ahead of C. C., with seven different players receiving at least one vote. The Twins had four players finish ahead of Crawford and three different members of the White Sox and Tigers received more votes.

Crawford’s finish is the second highest finish ever by a Ray in the MVP voting. In 2003, Huff received a 9th and 10th place vote to finish tied for 24th. The only other Ray to receive a vote in the balloting was Jorge Cantu in 2005, when he received a single 10th place vote and finished 27th.

Voting is conducted by two baseball writers from each American League city. While we are unsure who voted for Crawford, Huff and Cantu, it is reasonable to assume that a Tampa Bay Devil Ray is yet to receive a vote from somebody other than a writer for The Tampa Tribune or The St. Pete Times. Assuming that Carl Crawford is not traded, we venture to guess, that this will change in 2008.